Environment watchdog’s submission makes sobering reading

The submission
by the Commissioner for the Environment on freshwater
management is a deeply disturbing document ,says Labour’s
water spokesperson Meka Whaitiri.

“Dr Jan Wright says
the Government’s National Objectives Framework and the
National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management have
missed the mark.

“It is obvious to me from this
submission that the Environment Minister Amy Adams has done
too little too late. For Dr Wright to say there is little in
the National Objectives Framework, that would prevent her
bleak scenario on water quality in 2020 becoming reality, is
nothing short of a tragedy for New Zealand.

“I urge the
Minister to tackle the issue of nitrate runoff that Dr
Wright has identified as our biggest challenge. The
Commissioner for the Environment has made it clear that her
report is consistent with reports from the Land and Water
Forum.

“For the Environment Minister Amy Adams this
submission must come as a wake-up and a call to
action.”

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